Simulating the regional water balance through hydrological model based on TRMM satellite rainfall data

Abstract. Spatial rainfall is a key input to Distributed Hydrological Models, which is the most important limitation for the accuracy of hydrological models. Model performance and uncertainty could increase when rain gauge is sparse. Satellite-based precipitation products would be an alternative to ground-based rainfall estimates in present and the foreseeable future, however, it is necessary to evaluate the products before further implication. The objective of this paper is to provide assessments of: (a) the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall product using gauge data, (b) the TRMM rainfall as forcing data for hydrological simulation, and (c) the role of satellite data in calculating water balance and water management. TRMM rainfall data show reasonable performances at monthly and annual scales, fitting well with surface observation-based histogram of precipitation. Satisfactory performances in monthly runoff simulation (NS = 0.50 ~ 0.70, R² = 0.73 ~ 0.85) observed in our study indicate that the TRMM rainfall data have potential applications in driving hydrological model, water balance analysis, and basin water resource management in developing countries or remote locations, where precipitation gauges are scare.